This band was the most interesting and deeply controversial rock band in the Japan scene in 1972-73. The songs on this recording are all in the English language, sung by an American Tokyo resident rock singer, Alan Merrill, who fronts this Japanese band.

Details

Contents

#		Title	Length	Sample
1		C'est No More	3:16
2		Sorry	2:57
3		Bitches For Breakfast	1:59
4		Passion And Emotion	2:40
5		Miss Prettyface	2:23
6		Reprise	0:17
7		Possession Obsession	3:23
8		So Deep	4:10
9		See You Comin'	3:39
10		Bridge To The Moon	3:46
11		Instant Gratification	3:33
12		Foreign Prince Of Tokyo	4:10
13		Reprise	0:26
14		Knife (live)	5:48

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Description

Vodka Collins was like a comet that burned briefly and brightly across the sky of the Tokyo rock scene. In their two years as a unit they easily dominated the rock 'n roll world in Japan in the early 70's, and their debut album "Tokyo-New York" (EMI/Toshiba) still sells today in CD re-issues. There were three hit singles (in both the English and Japanese languages) off of the album, and a TV theme song.

The core band of Vodka Collins consisted of singer/guitarist Alan Merrill, and drummer/percussionist Hiroshi Oguchi, much like their British counterpart band T Rex. Marc Bolan of T Rex and his wife June were said to have loved the Vodka Collins' "Tokyo-New York" album, and they marvelled at the glam rock style being done in the Japanese language so well.

The band split up in the winter of 1973, in an explosive response by Merrill to the band's deceptive management, and their mishandling of the band's finances.

Due to overwhelming public demand as a result of CD re-issues of "Tokyo-New York", the band reformed in the 1990's, with new management and a new record label. They recorded "Chemical Reaction" (Polystar records) and "Pink Soup" (Tower Bounce records) in 1996 and '97 respectively.
The album "Boy's Life" is the 4th and last of the Vodka Collins albums, recorded in 1998. They made three albums in the 1990's during their successful re-union. "Boy's Life " is arguably the best, and most musically cohesive of the reunion albums. "Boy's Life" is a straight ahead rock album in the tradition of the Rolling Stones' "Exile On Main Street". Hiroshi Oguchi's drums convey a sense of danger and a feeling that things could skid off the rails at any time, creating a tension in the music that is exciting and unusual for a Japan based rock band. Alan Merrill's varied approach to songwriting, dipping into many colourful musical styles, makes for a diverse feel on each track. His unique stylized vocals and guitar playing convey a common thread on each song. Herein lies the difference in Vodka Collins from other bands in the history of the Japan rock scene. The combination of Merrill and Oguchi is combustable, and when it works, they rock as hard as anyone, anywhere on earth.

Vodka Collins was the #1 glam rock band in Japan in the early 1970's. It is rumoured that David Bowie's story of "Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars" was based on this group. The Vodka Collins' line-up even featured the rhythm guitarist from the famed mid 1960's Japanese hit band The Spiders, Monsieur Kamayatsu, which strongly supports this theory.
The band Vodka Collins disbanded in November 1973, at the peak of their popularity, with lead singer/songwriter and front man Alan Merrill leaving Tokyo for London to form another successful glam-pop band. The mid 70's UK chart hit band The Arrows. Drummer Hiroshi Oguchi left for Africa, to study African rhythm and drum techniques.
For photos and more please visit-
http://www.geocities.com/tokyony_2000/
or-
Hitomi's Vodka Collins page (in English and Japanese)
http://60spunk.m78.com/vodkacollins.html